Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! We had a great day with a trip to Jon's work and the ward trunk or treat. Natalie was a lamb this year. It was my first costume and I am quite the proud mother of it. She looked so cute and was always excited to wear her costume. Hope everyone and a fun and safe Halloween!

Missing You

Our computer decided to get really sick on Sunday morning, so we have been without a computer all week. I have been going to the amenities center to use the computer. I only use it when absolutely necessary though because it's a little challenging to try to entertain a little one and get what you need done on the computer while there are people waiting and watching you work. Get well soon, computer!

Just Call Me Coupon Crazy!

I thought I would share something that has helped our family save money and has kind of become an obsession. In January, I joined a service called The Grocery Game and have loved it ever since. It works by combining the weekly grocery ads with coupons in the Sunday circular for even bigger savings. We save an average of 48 percent on our grocery bill and sometime more. I often get items for free or close to nothing. For example, this week we picked up cough drops and headache medicine for free and a bag of bagels for only 50 cents. For $5 dollars a month, we save an average of over $200 a month. Call me crazy, but I even have my coupons sorted in a special binder that I take grocery shopping every week. This is another reason why I love to grocery shop.

Look Carefully

Here's a picture of Natalie with her teeth. Look carefully and you'll see one pearly white and the other growing in. I'll try to get a better picture that is closer up to replace this one.

All I Want for Christmas...

That's right-my two front teeth. We are in the middle of teething with Natalie right now. Her bottom tow teeth are in the process of appearing and with it has come a runny/stuffy nose, fever and some late night feedings. I look forward to the sickies being over. It is fun though to watch her tongue figure out what has appeared in her mouth. I am trying to get a picture of her so I can post it on my blog. I think her teeth will be in by Christmas too.

Book Club

Last week we started book club again in our ward. We read Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland. It was a wonderful book. It reminded me a lot of Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. The book is about a painting and how it affects the owner's life through time. There is also a little mystery to determine if it is a real Vermeer painting or not. Next month we are reading Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I love going to book club to hear other's point of view and ideas about the book. I can't wait for October to come!

Playgroup

In place of monthly enrichment, our ward has started interest groups. One group we started is playgroup. It met for the first time today and we were thinking of different ideas for outings and for the winter months. We are fortunate that it is warm here for a long time so we can go to the park several times, but are looking for other things to do. Any suggestions?

What's in your cart?

I have read some posts from others about how they read other's blogs they don't even know. I am guilty of the same, but it also got me thinking about observing others in another part of their lives. For example, I love grocery shopping and am curious about what other people have in their grocery carts. Sometimes as I pass, I sneak a peek to see what they are cooking and eating for the week. For example, you can tell when someone lives alone or their family is out of town because they have a lot of frozen pizza and very little perishable food in their carts. Or someone with school age children has chips, cookies and sandwich baggies in their cart. Tonight I was at the store picking up a few things for dinner tomorrow (peaches and whipping cream) and I saw one guy in line with bananas and sardines. Surely he didn't mean to eat them together or maybe it was a midnight snack and breakfast tomorrow. Maybe I shouldn't think beyond what people have in their cart, but I always wonder why they choose what they do during one trip to the grocery store.

*New Update*

Alright, so I am updating my blog. This family update is especially for you Chris. I decided to post a nostalgic picture of Jon and I. This was taken on our honeymoon in Palm Springs, CA. Just north of Palm Springs we took an aerial tramway that went to the top of a mountain. The view was beautiful, but the food at the restaurant wasn't that great.

Our lives have been pretty normal the last two weeks. Our biggest news is that Natalie is starting to crawl. It's funny because her movements are so exaggerated, but she is doing it. Jon and I have both been busy with work and our church callings. We had Stake Conference last week and Bishop Keith B. McMullin, from the Presiding Bishopric was there. He gave some interesting comments about the drought in our area. He said that although we can not reach into the heavens and cause the clouds to rain, we need to better Latter-Day Saints and that in turn will show the Lord we have faith that it will rain. He said we need to be better about our prayers, scripture reading, Family Home Evening and not shopping on Sundays. It was a very thought provoking talk.

Natalie Update

Yesterday Natalie had her six month checkup. The doctor said she is doing great. She weighs 15 lbs, 6 oz and is 26 1/4 inches long. The doctor said she is ahead developmentally because she can sit so well and is on her way to crawling.

It's hard to believe she is six months old already. Where has the time gone? She loves nursery rhymes, sticking her tongue out, smiling and being entertained. She is definitely thinking about crawling, but can't quite figure out what to do with her hands. We love watching her grow and seeing all her new changes.

You Are Called to Serve

My brother-in-law just received his mission call to Tacoma, Washington. We are really excited for him. He will be leaving October 25th. I know he will be a great missionary.

Primary Funny

This month in Primary we are working on the song "Holding Hands Around the World". Because of Mother and Father's Day and summer, I put this song off until school started. I showed a picture of some men and asked what the picture was about.

Me: What is this a picture of?

Child: Lamanites.

Me: Okay, what would you call a group of Lamanites with swords, spears and helmets on their head?

Child: Guys.

At this point, all the teachers and I are chuckling because they know what I am looking for, but the correct answer is not coming. I finally ask an older child and they give me the correct answer for the words to the song (army). Primary is full of surprises.

Two New Milestones

Natalie hit two new milestones last week. The first is, she can sit on her own! This is one I have looked forward to for a long time and we have been practicing for a long time too. It means easier bath times and she can play on her own. Our other milestone is that Jon taught Natalie to hold her own bottle. Natalie takes a bottle when I am at work, so Jon is the primary bottle feeder. He has been working for a while with her and finally succeeded.

Fun Flick

Jon and I rented a fun movie a couple weeks ago called "Little Manhattan". It's about a fifth-grade boy, living in NYC, who falls in love with a girl in his school class. It has a lot of little laughs. It stars Cynthia Nixon (Sex in the City and Bradley Whitford (West Wing) as the boy's parents. I recommend this movie for a good weekend chuckle.

I'm Back!

I got back Tuesday night from my vacation to Boston and New York to see my sisters and family. I had a great time. We spent a few days in Boston where my sister Alyson lives and went to Concord, Salem and Lexington.



Then we drove to Palmyra to see my sisters Kathryn and Julia in the Hill Cumorah Pagaent. While there, we saw the church sites and went to Niagra Falls.


After that, we drove to New York City for a two days and saw as much as we could (Empire State Building, UN, Times Square, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, Central Park). My favorite part of the trip was the American History walking tour of Boston and the church sites. Natalie was a real trooper with all the driving. It was quite a whirlwind trip, and a lot of fun, but I'm glad to be home.

Chatty Cathy & Vacations

Our week has been pretty normal and hum-drum for us, until Sunday. Natalie has been pretty quiet and low key this last week and suddenly perked up and came alive when we got to church. She talked and babbled the entire time unless she had a pacifier in her mouth. Since we got home, she hasn't stopped. I thought it was a one day thing, but when she got up this morning, it started all over again. It's funny to watch her discover her voice and all the different sounds and things she can do with her mouth.

I leave for Boston tomorrow to spend a week with my family. I have a sister living in Boston right now while her husband goes to law school and two sisters in the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I have never been to that part of the country and am excited to go. I plan to blog my trip, but we'll see what happens.

We Always Knew She Was Smart

This link will take you to Natalie's latest trick. We discovered it after I finished feeding Natalie and was cleaning up. Jon got the camera just in time and took a video. Maybe investing in a high chair is a wise idea. The link will be online for only 7 days.

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=E4EC9DE840C558DF

Let Me Out!

After several attempts of trying to escape, Natalie finally gave up and fell asleep.

It's the Little Things

The other day I was thinking about how much I enjoy having a baby and being a mom. I started to make a list of the little things I love about Natalie. I know there will be many more days of little moments to come, but these are just a few of my favorites.

• seeing her smile at me when she wakes up from a nap
• watching her smile and wiggle when Jon talks to her on the phone
• when she's eating and she pauses to give me a smile then goes right back to eating
• having her snuggle on my shoulder when she is asleep
• watching her concentrate on trying to get a toy or put her pacifier in her mouth
• watching her get excited and laugh when Jon gets home from work and plays with her
• having her always keep an eye on me when someone else is holding her
• when she grabs my face and give me a big wet kiss on my nose

Milestones

Today was a new milestone for Natalie- we started cereal. I'm not sure she really ate any because her face, bib, and pajamas were pretty dirty by the time we were done, but her picture shows she enjoyed the experience. Maybe tomorrow won't be quite so messy.